Westerman is one to watch and set to play two gigs in Leeds

Leeds music fans have two chances to catch hotly tipped singer-songwriter Westerman as he brings his brand of leftfield music to the city.

Westerman, signed to the Blue Flowers label run by Chris Pearson, who put on those early shows for the likes of Jamie T, Mystery Jets and Adele, has released a string of well received singles and is winning a reputation as a performer ready to break through.

He will be supporting the Dirty Projectors on Monday, August 20 at Leeds University’s Riley Smith Hall and returns to the city in a headlining capacity when his autumn tour brings him to the Hyde Park Book Club on Tuesday, October 16.

After his early material revealed an ambitious new sound borne on the forward-thinking experimentalism of influences like Nick Drake, David Byrne and Arthur Russell, Westerman’s single ‘Confirmation’ brought his music to new legions of fans.

Following it up with ‘Edison’, an incisive trip into the inner frailties of a narcissist, the consensus is unanimous: his slick leftfield pop leanings and psychological songwriting have made him one of the most hotly tipped artists this year.

New song ‘Easy Money’, the flip side to ‘Edison’, sees Westerman confronting some of his own fixations.

He says: “I started out writing a love song, then it sort of morphed into more of a conversation.

“It’s a conversation I had many times over with someone I care about a lot. The subject matter is something I was thinking about too often.

“I wanted to retain a sense of romance in the music as counterpoint to where lyrics ended up and I tried to make it so the voice seems float within the music. The characters existing in a state of transience.”

Like the writers he admires, Westerman’s music places us in the centre of troubled minds. From the striking early work which revealed a reverential respect for his influences, the ‘Edison’ and ‘Confirmation’ singles, out on vinyl on August 17, are important artistic milestones in the rapid development of his unique blueprint.

‘Easy Money’ is another powerful progression for Westerman. Already proven as a top-drawer new lyricist, he expounds the workings of our inner selves in his bold ethereal sound.

With a new EP expected this autumn and an album slated for 2019, Westerman will no doubt be at the forefront of our consciousness as a singular artist removed from the prevailing pop world trends, yet one with the talent to bring the pop world to him on his own terms.

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